No Friday

I just signed up for Garagiste, in their own words, a “a selective, Seattle-based retail emporium dedicated to the wine artisan and consumer”.

I learned of it when Christopher Kimball, editor-in-chief of Cook’s Illustrated (a subscription to which is one of my favorite presents from Meagan), mentioned it at an event at work on Wednesday.

It seems like an interesting concept - I’ll let you know how it works out. So far, the offers have been very tempting and intriguing. I have eight bottles on order.

I am leaving for Boston tomorrow. The primary reason is a college recruiting trip at MIT. But I’m very excited to see my wife’s parents (still not used to using the word “wife”, let alone “in-laws”, but very happy on both accounts). Also, thanks to the big comeback last night, I’ll be arriving just in time to watch Game 6 of the ALCS.

If the improbable happens and Boston faces Philadelphia, I’ll likely have to take out a loan and get tickets for Game 1 of the World Series, which would be Wednesday night in Boston, the last night of my trip.

We spent the weekend in Portland. Meagan wanted to get away from the books for a while, and with no tests on the horizon, this weekend proved opportune. It’s also been a while since we’ve seen my cousin Becky, her husband Jay, and their adorable toddler Abby. The need to put together a small portfolio for my photography class was the final impetus, so on Friday night after work, we ventured south.

The drive to Oregon was miserable. It was raining, heavily at times, most of the way. We had hoped to get a nice dinner in Portland, but with traffic and the weather looking ominous, we instead opted for burritos from World Wraps. We’ll have to save our list of fine establishments that we accumulated for next time.

We woke up late on Saturday and walked to Mother’s, a local bistro and bar, for breakfast. The line was pretty long, but we were seated in about twenty minutes. The Stumptown mocha was delcious, as was Meagan’s “corn off the cob” omelette and my peach Belgian waffle (with bacon on the side). We also polished off a sticky bun.

Fueled for the morning, we walked a few blocks north to an outdoor market. Lots of crafts, food, and hippies on display. The highlight was probably the unicycling bagpiper. Unfortunately, I didn’t really get a shot of him in action.

We then continued west towards 23rd and the Alphabet District, a fun neighborhood with lots of nice shops. After walking down the boulevard, we parked it at Cafe Reese for a little while, enjoying some more caffeine.

Around mid-afternoon, we headed back towards the center of town to catch the train to Beaverton, where Becky and Jay live. Jay met us at the station and drove us the mile to their house. We relaxed for a while, with Abby providing plenty of entertainment. She had a bit of a cold, and although we did our best to contain our juvenile laughter at her baby snot-filled sneezes, we largely failed. In order to save my second cousin’s dignity, I refrained from taking those pictures. I did get a few cuter ones though.

We then walked about a mile into down for a dinner at a local Italian restaurant. Abby continued to amuse by roaming around the seating area while we ate. After dinner, we returned to the house, and munched on some Voodoo donuts we had picked up.

Finally, we took the train back to Portland. We tried to have a nightcap at the Oregon Wines on Broadway wine bar. But apparently it closes at eight. Eight? Come on.

Today, Sunday, we needed to leave early as Meagan had a to work at a local clinic. The Starbucks next to our hotel was cleaned out of pastries due to the runners competing in the Portland marathon. Luckily, we stumbled upon a much better option, the Pearl Bakery, on our way out of town.

The drive home was a lot easier, though still rainy. Once back in town, I winnowed the photos down to the twenty required for my class portfolio.

Thanks for a great weekend, Becky, Jay, and Abby!

Pictures from the weekend (Smugmug)

We’re heading to Portland tomorrow night to visit my cousin and her family.

I was researching dinner options for tomorrow night and stumbled across this one: Beast.

First, great name for an upscale French restaurant.

Second, their policy: “Substitutions Politely Declined”.

That’s awesome. So obnoxious that we’ll have to try it - maybe not this trip though.

I know I am at risk of turning the blog into a serial reminiscence of the wedding - but the slide show that our Daria and Andy put together was too cool that I had to share it.

Check it out here.

I’ll hurry up and get back to writing stories of wrestling lions on the open savannah of the Serengeti soon.

At the beginning of this summer, we purchased some outdoor furniture (and looking at those pictures, teak does indeed weather quick). It’s only fitting that at what hopefully isn’t quite yet the end of summer, we bought a new gas grill: the legendary Genesis E-310.

I’ve been considering this upgrade for a little while, but when the Aussie finally kicked the bucket a few weeks ago, I finally had mental justification to pull the trigger. I haven’t been this excited about a new house addition since the Plasma purchase a few years ago.

JJ graciously provided transportation - there was no chance this thing was fitting in the Corolla. We hauled it home, and it took me about three hours or so to assemble it. Mostly because I am slow and didn’t want to mess it up. Meagan was getting a little anxious for dinner but I was able to finish up in time for an inaugural grilling of steak and salmon.

The Arrival:

Sadie modelling, and putting the box in perspective:

Assembled!

The Final Days of the Aussie

Legendary Grill Marks on the steak

More Capacity

Salmon, Plated

Steak, Plated

Dinner Time!

Thanks for the ride JJ. Meagan, thanks for waiting a little while for dinner.

Thanks Mom & Dad for the wedding present and here’s hoping for a few more summer nights. If not, Home Depot did have some outdoor patio heaters…

(Meagan, you didn’t read that.)

Many have asked us how we picked Tanzania for our honeymoon. I am not really sure how it came about. We had a strong bias for going some place far away, since the summer after first year provided a relatively large travel window in the medical journey. Plus the honeymoon alone is justification enough. I think Meagan first suggested a safari, because it’s something she’s always wanted to do. She also liked that we first met through a happy hour that our friends used to organize called “Safari”. I’m always up for an adventure and had never been to Africa, so the idea intrigued me.

We narrowed it down to a continent, but we were immediately overwhelmed by the possibilities therein, and the wide range of costs. We knew the trip wasn’t going to be cheap, but some of the options were mind blowing. Many times, we came close to throwing in the towel on the African trip, but we couldn’t quite let go. Probably, it was I who couldn’t quite let go. Meagan did accuse me of attempting “honeymoon one-upsmanship”, in trying to pick some place “cooler” than others we know had chosen. Maybe.

In the early days of our research, we went to World Wide Books in Wallingford (an awesome travel bookstore in Seattle), and picked up Lonely Planet East Africa. Kenya and Tanzania were on the short list. After perusing the book, and doing more internet research, the idea of a safari adventure followed by bumming on the beach seemed like the perfect recipe - and Tanzania, with a wide variety of National Parks (including the Serengeti) and the island of Zanzibar, gained ground as the leading contender.

But we were still finding it difficult to keep costs down. With gas prices at record highs, decent airfares to the dark continent weren’t easy to come by, and while some safari prices seemed reasonable, given the range of price for what seemed to be similar offerings, it was hard to tell if we were getting our money’s worth.

We were making progress, though, and I was starting to get a better feel for where your money goes on a safari. Lodging is a large part of the cost (especially for some of the camps in the middle of nowhere!), but you’re also paying for vehicle transportation, a safari guide, meals, and national park fees.

Several of the tour companies we contacted gave me good information, but one stood out. Africa Travel Resource, which was listed in Lonely Planet and is based out of England. I had a lot of back and forth conversations with Rob. What really struck me was that they really tried to understand your travel goals and budget and build out an customized itinerary based on what you want, instead of just giving you a few standard packages. The itinerary was also super-itemized, which allowed you to dial aspects of your trip up or down, depending on your preference and budget. In our case, for example, we chose to spend more money to get our own 4×4, but chose some less extravagant lodging choices, especially on Zanzibar.

The trip was still daunting. The thing that probably put us over the edge was knowing that we’d have a local connection to rural Africa. My good buddy Tim (who you can see dancing at our wedding with his wife here) has a good friend from college, Greg, who had lived in Tanzania for some time, working with local projects via a Canadian NGO, CACHA (Canadian Africa Community Health Alliance). I had only met him once (at Tim’s wedding), but it just so happened that a few years back I agreed to host his website, dedicated to his work: mzungudays.com. Greg was super helpful in giving us travel advice and went out of his way to offer to show us around, since he was going to be back in Tanzania while there.

The offer proved too difficult to pass up, and in May, a little more than two months before the target departure date, we pulled the trigger and reserved the safari and airfare. And in retrospect, we couldn’t have been happier. Over the next few posts, I’ll try to recount the adventure.

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I spent a good part of the weekend furiously typing away my memories of our happy time in Vermont. I’m sure it’s a little verbose at times, but I wanted as best I could to capture the moments for myself and for Meagan, and for anyone else who cared to read, and to thank the many who helped make it happen.

The Posts

• Part 1: The Prelude
• Part 2: The Ride
• Part 3: The BBQ
  
• Part 4: The ER
• Part 5: The Ceremony
• Part 6: The Reception
• Part 7: The Farewell

The Pictures

• Daria and Andy’s Slideshow
• Daria and Andy’s Pictures
• Joe’s Pictures (including some from my mom) (Smugmug)
• Andy and Sara’s Pictures
• Aunt Vikki’s Pictures
• Amar’s Pictures

If you gathered from the previous six posts that I spent a lot of time recapping the wedding, you’d be mostly right.

Medical school is back in session, so Friday night started off with a happy hour at the Duchess in the U. After polishing off a few beers, we headed to the Elysian’s Tangletown, where our friends Pete and JJ were hanging - we grabbed dinner and some more beer, including their Pumpkin IPA, a sure sign that fall is now here. Fortunately, I like pumpkin beer, so no complaints. I was tempted to complete the Elysian trifecta - I had lunch at Elysian Fields - and head to the mothership in Capital Hill, but we called it a night.

Saturday, Meagan had a dermatology clinic, so I ran errands and then we got breakfast at Portage Bay. Afterwards, I headed home and did bills for the first time in two months - amazingly nothing was late - thank you autopay. Saturday night, we went to Tilth in Wallingford for a late dinner - amazing as usual.

Today, Sunday, Meagan and I were invited to speak at UW’s medical school’s “family day”, a nice event the school puts on for incoming first year students and their families. I believe we were there as the token “recently married” students. After the med school counselor possibly scared all the first years and their S.O.’s into thinking a career in medicine was the end of their lives, I felt it was my duty to reassure them, “it ain’t so bad.” Besides that, my key pieces of advice were to look out for med students at happy hour and to consider the possibility that your girlfriend might not be in the most relaxed state of mind the evening after a final, if you were hypothetically to propose to her then.

Sunday afternoon we hung around Green Lake a bit, having lunch at Soup’s Up and then walking to a running store to get new kicks for Meagan. Afterwards, we returned home, where Meagan continued studying and I continued blogging the nuptials.

I met an old friend from college, Pete, and his wife Allison downtown at Twist for dinner. Pete and I backpacked through Europe after college, and reminsiced about that trip and our recent adventures - my trip to Tanzania, and his one to Tuscany and Chinqueterra. Twist’s food was kinda bleh, but it was great catching up with an old friend.

It’s a bit unfortuante that I didn’t get outside more this weekend, since the weather was gorgeous, but it was a good weekend regardless, and even if I droned on too much about Vermont, I’m happy to have it written, since I hope one day I’ll appreciate it. And now, I’m off to bed.

[Continued from the previous day.]

Sunday, our first full day as a married couple.

We had a farewell breakfast at our cottage, so we arose fairly early to say our goodbyes to everyone. Meagan’s mom Jayne continued to help us in so many ways, this time cleaning up our place from the weekend partying and preparing food and coffee.

After most of our friends and family had left, we started cleaning up and packing up the car. Even though I was still a bit hobbled, I wanted to have one last walk around the Inn before we left.

Finally, early in the afternoon, as mountain bikers were arriving to tear up the Kingdom Trails, we departed East Burke. We were bound for the Mountain View Grand in Whitefield, NH, about an hour east, for a smaller post-wedding gathering at a hotel and resort that the Dodge family owned for many years.

We arrived after most of the Dodges and my parents, who were already out on the patio of the main hotel, enjoying a cocktail. We quickly checked in, put our bags in the room, and then joined them.

Early in the evening, we drove a short ride down the road to the home of Meagan’s great uncle John and his wife Lore, who were graciously hosting us. We enjoyed a few glasses of wine and some pre-dinner appetizers, while admiring the views of the Presidential Range of the White Mountains and listening intently to John’s stories of the history of the house, the area, and the Mountain View Grand.

After cocktails, we returned to the hotel for a private family dinner. It was a true “Downeast” Lobster Bake, with clam chowder, boiled potatoes, steamers, mussels, corn on the cob, and of course, lobster. Few things go together as well as good food and great family, and we were blessed with plenty of both the entire weekend. It was also a bit easier to relax with the smaller family group.

John continued to regale us with stories of the Inn and of the Dodge family, and after dinner, we were able to tour the wine cellar below. Afterwards, we once again relaxed on the patio, and enjoyed a few glasses of Meagan’s dad’s favorite wine, Silver Oak. Finally, we retired for the evening.

Monday was bittersweet. We were sad in knowing that our amazing weekend in Vermont (and New Hampshire) was over. But, mostly we were happy that we had such a great time and that we had many happy days ahead, not the least of which was the upcoming excursion to Tanzania. We said goodbye to my parents, who were returning home to Pennsylvania, and to Meagan’s dad, who was heading north on a motorcycle trip to Prince Edward Island.

And finally, Meagan, her mom, and I packed in the car one last time, and headed south on I-93 to Boston to get ready for the next big adventure.